Benjamin f



(No Model.)

B.F.PARKER. RAILWAY CATTLE GUARD.

No. 588,171. Patented Aug. 17, 1897.

13y MQAUo vgzys,

1 can; virus :0, mom-um UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

BENJAMIN F. PARKER, OF NORTH YAKIMA, WVASI-IINGTON.

RAILWAY CATTLE-G UARD.

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent No. 588,171, dated August1'7, 1897.

Application filed May 20, 1897. Serial No. 637,883. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that 1, BENJAMIN F. PARKER, a citizen of the United States,residing at North Yakima, in the county of Yakima and State of\Vashington, have invented a new and useful Railway Cattle-Guard, ofwhich the following is a specification.

The invention relates to improvements in railway cattle-guards.

The object of the present invention is to improve the construction ofthat class of railway cattle-guards which employ a pivoted or hingedgate and provide a weight for holding the gate normally elevated toprevent cattle from Walking along a track and passing from one fieldinto another.

A further object of the invention is to enable the weight to be arrangedso that it will not require a pit or cavity to be excavated in theroad-bed for its reception, and to improve the connection between thedepressible bars, which are engaged by the wheels of a train and thegate.

The invention consists in the construction and novel combination andarrangement of parts, as hereinafter fully described, illustrated in theaccompanying drawings, and pointed out in the claims hereto appended.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view of a railwaycattle-guard constructed in accordance with this invention, the gatebeing closed. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the same, thegate being open. Fig. 3 is a detail sectional view illustrating theconstruction of the connection between the depressible bars and thegate.

Like numerals of reference designate corresponding parts in the severalfigures of the drawings.

1 designates a gate composed of a bottom bar or shaft and pickets 2,rigidly connected with the bottom bar or shaft, which is journaled insuitable bearings and disposed transversely of a track, the rails 3thereof being preferably provided with bearings for the gate. Thepickets of the gate are disposed at a slight inclination when the partsare arranged as illustrated in Fig. 1 of the drawings, and as the gateopens in one direction only it is impossible for it to be forced open bystock approaching the points of the pickets.

The gate is held normally closed by a weighted arm 4:, substantiallyL-shaped, as shown, and having its outer portion extending upward andprovided with a ball 5 or other suitable form of weight. The weightedarm at rests upon a resilient support 6, consisting of a rod extendedlongitudinally of thetrack at the outer side of one of the rails andhaving one end curved outward, as shown, and disposed transversely ofthe weighted arm and arranged beneath the same. The shank or bodyportion of the resilient support is secured to oneof the cross-ties ofthe track, and its curved end is free and is adapted to cushion the gateand prevent it from being injured when it is raised by the weight afterit has been operated by a train. The weight is located outside of thetrack and does not necessitate a pit or cavity to be ex cavated in theroad-bed for its reception, and the road-bed is not injured or weakenedby the cattle-guard.

The gate is provided at one side with an arm 7, located adjacent to theinner face of one of the rails and connected by a link 9 with theadjacent ends of a pair of depressible bars 10 and 11, extending fromthe gate in opposite directions and arranged to be engaged by car-wheelflanges, whereby a train approaching the cattle-guard will rock theshaft or bottom bar of the gate and open the latter before reaching it.The outer ends of.

the depressible bars are pivotally mounted upon the adjacent cross-ties,and the inner end of one baris bifurcated and the adjacent end of theother bar is reduced and fitted in such bifurcation. The link 9 has its.ends bent at right angles in opposite directions to provide'upper andlower pivots 12 and 13, the lower pivot passing through the arm 7 andthe upper pivot connecting the adjacent ends of the depressible bars. Asthe outer ends of the depressible bars are permanently pivoted uponcrossties the reduced end, which fits in the bifurcation, is providedwith a longitudinal slot to permit the necessary play of the parts whenthe bars are'depressed.

When the gate is swung downward, it is held in such position during thepassage of a train over it, and the throw of the gate is insufficient tocarry it into contact with the road-bed, so that it is not injuredthrough its operation. The adjacent cross-tie may be recessed to permitthe ends of the pickets to be depressed sufficiently to clear a train,and at the same time not come in contact with the cross-tie.

It will be seen that the railway cattle-guard is exceedingly simple andinexpensive in construction, that it may be readily applied to any trackwithout necessitating any excavation of the road-bed, and that the gateis not injured in opening and closing.

What I claim is- 1. In a railway cattle-guard, the combination of atilting or pivoted gate extending transversely of a track and journaledin suitable bearings, an arm extending from one side of the bottom barof the gate, a pair of depressible gate-operating bars disposedlongitudinally of the track and pivoted at their outer ends, one of thebars being bifurcated at its inner end and the other bar being reducedand fitting in the bifurcation, a linkrod extending from the depressiblebars to the said arm and having its ends bent at right angles to formpivots, one of the pivots passing through the arm and the other pivotconnecting the adjacent ends of the depressible bars, and a weight forholding the gate closed, substantially as described.

2. In a railway cattle-guard, the combination of a gate arrangedtransversely of a track and j ournaled in suitable bearings,a weightedupwardly-extending arm connected with the gate and located outside ofthe track, a resilient support consisting of a rod disposedlongitudinally of the track and having one end free and extended beneaththe weighted arm, and means for operating the gate, substantially asdescribed.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto aflixedmy signature in the presence of two witnesses.

BENJ. F. PARKER.

Witnesses:

THOMAS J. PARKER, GEORGE S. COURTER.

